Sports
USWNT’s Naomi Girma completes Chelsea move for record transfer fee in women’s soccer
USWNT defender Naomi Girma has completed her move from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea and become the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history.
The Athletic reported earlier this week that Chelsea had agreed terms with the Wave for the transfer of Girma for a record $1.1million fee, according to sources briefed on the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The 24-year-old had been under contract at San Diego until 2026, which is why the deal required a fee, and this has made her the first $1million-plus women’s soccer player.
The deal surpasses the previous record sum of €735,000 paid by Bay FC for Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF in February 2024.
Girma attracted considerable interest from elsewhere in Europe, with eight-time European champions Lyon tabling a $1m offer of their own.
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The first $1m female footballer will be a defender and that feels just right
“I’m so happy and really excited to be here,” Girma told the Chelsea website. “It doesn’t feel real.
“There are a lot of things about Chelsea that made me want to come here — the culture, the winning mentality, staff and players. It’s a top environment to learn and grow in.
“Right now, that’s what I’m looking to do. It was an easy choice for me.”
Girma was presented on the Stamford Bridge pitch ahead of their Women’s Super League game against Arsenal (Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Wave were prepared to lose the center-back for the 2025 season, having signed 17-year-old Trinity Armstrong out of the University of North Carolina to a three-year deal last week.
Girma joined the Wave as the first pick in the 2022 NWSL draft after playing for Stanford at the collegiate level. She was named NSWL defender of the year in 2022 and 2023 and was part of the Wave side that won the NWSL Shield in 2023.
Chelsea have now added further depth at centre-back after losing Canada international Kadeisha Buchanan to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in December.
Sonia Bompastor’s side lead the Women’s Super League and have progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League — the one competition they are yet to win.
Analysis from The Athletic’s senior soccer writer Jeff Rueter
When the U.S. won 2024 Olympic gold, Girma’s praises were sung as loudly as those of the side’s attacking trio of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson.
Even with the advancement of modern metrics, it is difficult to quantify the extent of a defender’s value in numbers. Instead, a combination of data, the eye test and expert endorsement helped drive one point home: Girma had quickly entered her position’s highest echelon.
“She’s the best defender I’ve ever seen,” U.S. head coach Emma Hayes, formerly manager of Chelsea, said after a shutout Olympic semifinal victory against Germany. “Ever. She’s got everything: poise, composure, she defends, she anticipates, she leads.”
In that Germany win, Girma had a higher number of completed passes than any other player even attempted. She locked down Germany’s attackers whenever they neared the final third. She carried the ball for 687 meters, 24 per cent of the USWNT’s combined distance, giving crucial time for her teammates to make off-ball movements.
For now, Girma is in a class of her own. She is, by many people’s estimation, the best player at her position in the women’s game worldwide. That status also vaults her into the broader conversation about the sport’s greatest players. And on that front, she’s heading towards being among the best in USWNT history.
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Who is Naomi Girma? USWNT defender to break $1m transfer mark with Chelsea move
How does Girma’s fee compare to others in women’s soccer?
Girma’s fee marks the fourth time the women’s transfer record has been broken in less than three years. It was broken twice in the space of a month in 2024.
It also marks the third time Chelsea have signed a player for women’s transfer record fee, following the additions of Mayra Ramirez from Levante in 2022 and Pernille Harder from Wolfsburg in 2020.
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The women’s world transfer record has been broken three times in 18 months. Is that good or bad?
Analysis from The Athletic’s tactics writer Michael Cox
Ordinarily, it takes a few games to realise the full ability of a centre-back, but something about Girma is different. An excellent reader of the game, good at covering space in behind and capable of battling physically without leaning on physicality, she seems the complete defender.
Perhaps the only thing she lacks is true aerial dominance. At 1.68m (5ft 6in) tall, she’s not a towering presence and she won only 51.5 per cent of her aerial battles in the NWSL last season, which isn’t a particularly reassuring figure for a centre-back. But the fact she can dominate her own penalty box despite that relative lack of aerial power almost adds to her aura.
It also says something about the development of the women’s game overall. Whereas the men’s game has steadily weaned itself off a diet of long balls and crosses, the women’s game has evolved in a different way, more based around attacking on the ground through technique or speed. There are only around 75 per cent as many aerial battles in the Women’s Super League compared to the Premier League, for example.
Being the most valuable footballer in the world doesn’t translate to being the outright best footballer, of course. Still, centre-backs feel unusually prominent. Even before Girma’s move, 10 of the 50 most expensive transfers in the women’s game involved defenders, compared to just six of the top 50 most expensive transfers in the men’s game.
For once, the next generation of footballers might just grow up wanting to play in defence.
(Top photo: Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images)
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Who’ll win the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup? The race is on for who’ll score the most goals at the tournament, and it is set to be one of the tournament’s most closely watched storylines.
Several of the world’s top forwards will be aiming to finish as the competition’s leading goalscorer. Kylian Mbappé enters the tournament after winning the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, and Mikel Oyarzabal are among the other players expected to challenge for the award.
And check out our list of all the 2026 World Cup goals, ranked!
Favorites To Win The Golden Boot
Harry Kane: +310 (bet $10 to win $41 total)
Lionel Messi: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Kylian Mbappé: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Erling Haaland: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Kai Havertz: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Vinícius Júnior: +3300 (bet $10 to win $340 total)
Folarin Balogun: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Mikel Oyarzabal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Lamine Yamal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Raphinha: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Michael Olise: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Romelu Lukaku: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Viktor Gyökeres: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Cody Gakpo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Cristiano Ronaldo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
3 Goals
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2 Goals
Johan Manzambi (Switzerland)
Harry Kane (England)
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Kylian Mbappé (France)
Harry Kane (England)
Elijah Just (New Zealand)
Yasin Ayari (Sweden)
Kai Havertz (Germany)
Folarin Balogun (USA)
1 Goal
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)
Rubén Vargas (Switzerland)
Ermin Mahmic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Michal Sadilek (Czechia)
Teboho Mokoena (South Africa)
Jáminton Campaz (Colombia)
Luis Díaz (Colombia)
Daniel Muñoz (Colombia)
Abbosbek Fayzullaev (Uzbekistan)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Martin Baturina (Croatia)
Petar Musa (Croatia)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
João Neves (Portugal)
Marko Arnautović (Austria)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
João Neves (Portugal)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
Ali Olwan (Jordan)
Romano Schmid (Austria)
Leo Østigard (Norway)
Ayman Hussein (Iraq)
Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal)
Bradley Barcola (France)
Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)
Mohammad Mohebbi (Iran)
Maxi Araújo (Uruguay)
Abdulelah Al-Amri (Saudi Arabia)
Emam Ashour (Egypt)
Alexander Isak (Sweden)
Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden)
Mattias Svanberg (Sweden)
Omar Rekik (Tunisia)
Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
Keito Nakamura (Japan)
Daichi Kamada (Japan)
Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)
Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands)
Felix Nmecha (Germany)
Nico Schlotterbeck (Germany)
Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Nathaniel Brown (Germany)
Deniz Undav (Germany)
Connor Metcalfe (Australia)
Nestory Irankunda (Australia)
John McGinn (Scotland)
Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil)
Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
Gio Reyna (USA)
Mauricio (Paraguay)
Cyle Larin (Canada)
Jovo Lukić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Ladislav Krejcí (Czechia)
Julián Quiñones (Mexico)
Raúl Jimenez (Mexico)
Hwang In-Beom (South Korea)
Oh Hyeon-Gyu (South Korea)
Own Goals
Yazan Al-Arab (Jordan; 1)
Ayman Hussein (Iraq; 1)
Mohamed Hany (Egypt; 1)
Miro Muheim (Switzerland; 1)
Damián Bobadilla (Paraguay; 1)
Last 5 Golden Boot Winners
- 2022 (Qatar): Kylian Mbappé (France) – 8 goals
- 2018 (Russia): Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals
- 2014 (Brazil): James Rodríguez (Colombia) – 6 goals
- 2010 (South Africa): Thomas Müller (Germany) – 5 goals
- 2006 (Germany): Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 5 goals
Sports
Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria receive lengthy medical suspensions after UFC Freedom 250 fight
Justin Gaethje waited a long time to become an undisputed UFC champion.
Now the 37-year-old MMA star might have to wait another six months or so before fighting again.
Gaethje upset former two-weight champion Ilia Topuria with a technical knockout in a lightweight unification championship bout at the UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday on the White House South Lawn.
Topuria was a bloody and swollen mess by the time his corner stopped the fight between the fourth and fifth rounds. Gaethje executed a soaring back flip off the cage to celebrate his first undisputed belt, but it turns out that the former two-time interim champion also suffered significant injuries during the bout.
Both Gaethje and Topuria were among the five UFC Freedom 250 fighters who received 180-day medical suspensions from the Assn. of Boxing and Combative Sports Commissions, according to a list issued by the commissions and viewed by The Times.
Ilia Topuria suffered two broken orbital bones during his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 in Washington.
(Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Gaethje’s suspension can be shortened if he is cleared with negative MRIs for his right wrist and left knee. Topuria, who suffered two broken orbital bones, can return early if cleared by a an Oral and Maxillofacial Foundation specialist.
Both men also are required to serve mandatory rest days (45 for Gaethje, 60 for Topuria).
Alex Pereira, who lost his interim heavyweight title bout to Ciryl Gane by TKO, was medically suspended for 180 days or until he’s cleared with a negative maxillofacial CT scan. Undercard fighters Aiemann Zahabi and Steve Garcia also received 180-day medical suspensions.
Topuria won the UFC featherweight championship by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024. He vacated that title a year later and in June 2025 defeated Charles Oliveira by knockout to claim lightweight belt.
In November, Topuria announced he was temporarily stepping away from fighting. Gaethje earned the interim lightweight title in January by defeating Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision.
That set up the unification bout between Gaethje and Topuria, which was the final fight of an elaborate event at the White House held on President Trump’s 80th birthday and billed as part of a summer-long celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary.
Sports
Deion Sanders wanted more from his son, Shedeur Sanders, but backs development plan after Myles Garrett trade
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The Cleveland Browns entered last season with one of the NFL’s more crowded quarterback rooms.
Shedeur Sanders took over as starting quarterback in Week 12 last season, and after two more starts, he was named the starter for the remainder of the season. Sanders’ stunning slide to the fifth round of the 2025 draft set the stage for him becoming one of the most scrutinized rookies in recent memory.
Few know Shedeur’s game better than Deion Sanders, his father and former college coach. On Wednesday, the two-time Super Bowl champion reflected on his son’s rookie season.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders throws a pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. during the first half of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills in Cleveland, Ohio, on Dec. 21, 2025. (Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo)
After Shedeur endured an uneven rookie season for the 5-12 Browns, the Colorado football coach said he hoped for more from his son but also pointed to the support young quarterbacks need early in their development.
“I would have wanted him to perform a little better, but that’s not just an individual thing, that’s a team thing,” Sanders told Covers while speaking on behalf of his partnership with Depend.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders greets his dad Deion Sanders before an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills in Cleveland on Dec. 21, 2025. (Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo)
“A quarterback needs help tremendously from the offensive line, from the receivers, from the running game, from the coordinators as well. “It’s not just a singular thing, like a defensive back. I don’t care what the pass rush is, (the DB) has got to do his job. It’s a little different with a quarterback. He needs several things to go right for him to be successful.”
BROWNS GM ANDREW BERRY WON’T COMMIT TO SHEDEUR SANDERS AS 2026 STARTER DESPITE ROOKIE’S PROGRESS
Sanders also weighed in on Cleveland’s decision to trade the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams, a move that underscored the Browns’ rebuild.
“I’m happy with Mr. Berry, the GM, and what he’s doing, I’m not going to question his direction of what he’s bringing to the table,” Sanders said of Browns general manager Andrew Berry.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders warms up before an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers in Cleveland on Nov. 30, 2025. (Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo)
“I’m not there, so I don’t know all the intangibles that provoked that trade. I’m happy with what they got, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.”
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Sanders finished his rookie season 3-4 as a starter, with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
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